October 8, 2006
Rev. Terry D. Campbell

A Way to Honor God
Proverbs 3:9-10 (MsgB)

"Honor GOD with everything you own; give him the first and the best. ¹⁰Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over."

Flip Wilson was a popular comedian several years ago. One of his characters was a Preacher at the "What's Happening Now Church." He told about this preacher. He'd yell: "IF THIS CHURCH IS GOING TO SERVE GOD IT'S GOT TO GET DOWN ON ITS KNEES AND CRAWL!!!" And the congregation would yell back "Make it crawl preacher, make it crawl!" Then he would yell: "AND ONCE THIS CHURCH HAS LEARNED TO CRAWL, IT'S GOT TO GET UP ON ITS FEET AND WALK!!!" And the congregation would yell back "Make it walk preacher, make it walk." Then he would say: "AND ONCE THIS CHURCH HAS LEARNED TO WALK IT'S GOT BEGIN TO LEARN TO RUN!!!" And they would yell, "Make it run, preacher, make it run!" Then he would say, "AND IN ORDER TO RUN, ITS GOT REACH DEEP DOWN INTO POCKETS AND LEARN TO GIVE!!!" And there would be a pause, and the people would say "Make it crawl preacher, make it crawl." We tend to be tight with our money, but the Bible tells us . . .

I. Honor God with everything you own.
"Honor GOD with everything you own"

Honor God is our universal call as Christians. We can ignore God with our money. We can dishonor God with our money. But the right thing to do is to honor God with our money, our "things" and everything we own.

It is like when I was a kid and was told that what I do in general reflects back on my family. We have a prime example of that in the news now-the professional football player who intentionally stomped twice with his cleats on the un-helmeted head of a downed runner causing him to have 30 stitches. Everyone was aghast at what he did. His coach apologized immediately after the game to the other team's coach. I'm glad to say that the man himself later in an interview was profusely apologetic, saying things like "I have disgraced myself, my team, football, my family. I am ashamed for my kids to have my last name which I have dishonored." Did you notice that? What he did as an individual, brought disgrace to other members of his family who share his last name.

1 Cor. 10:31-"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

Matthew 7:9-11-"'Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!'"

Matthew 6:33-"'But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.'"

Tithing is not a rule, it is a revelation. We are invited to adopt a Tithing lifestyle not because it is some outdated rule in the Bible, but because it is part of God's revelation that a generous life is the best life to live. Abraham giving 10% of his spoils of victory to the priest Melchezadek, Malachi saying that to not give your tithe is to rob God, and 2 Corinthians 9-telling believers to setting aside regularly your offering to be ready.

II. Give God your first and best.
"give him the first and the best"

This is not "leftovers". It's no what you can spare. It is a choice in the beginning of distribution of your income. Leftovers are such humble things, We would not serve to a guest, And yet we serve them to our Lord Who deserve the very best. We give to Him leftover time, Stray minutes here and there. Leftover cash we give to Him, Such few coins as we can spare. We give our youth unto the world, To hatred, lust and strife; Then in declining years we give To him the remnant of our life.

In Matthew, Mark, and Luke 1 out of every 6 verses deals with money. Of the 29 parables Christ told, 16 deal with a person and his money. That is because tithing is not about accounting, but about acknowledging God is the source of all gifts. Yes, the 10% mathematics of Tithing helps us to demonstrate that acknowledgement, but the real issue is to acknowledge that God is the God of all things - including our possessions. In the midst of a consumer culture here in America, that is an important acknowledgement for us.

James 1:17-"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." Giving God our first and best acknowledges that.

III. You can't out-give God.
"¹⁰Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over."

A steward is like a manager of a local McDonald's Restaurant who carries out the aims of the owners, maximizes profits, while handling all the problems. Dr. Towns teaches a stewardship lesson entitled: "Who Owns Your French Fries". It is the story of a man who buys his little boy some french fries. Then the father does what all fathers do, he reaches over and takes one french fry to taste it. The little boy slaps his father's hand and says, "Don't touch my french fries." The father thinks that his son is selfish. The father knows that he bought the french fries and they belong to him. The father knows that his son belongs to him. The father could get angry and never buy his son another french fry again to teach his son a lesson, or the father could "bury" his son in french fries. The father thinks, "Why is my son selfish, I have given him a whole package of french fries; I just want one french fry." The point is that God has given us money, when He asks for a tithe, people figuratively slap His hand and say, "Keep Your hands off my money." God owns everything we have. He wants us to manage what we have for His glory-our time, talent, temple, testimony and treasures. And He wants us to give back a portion of what He has given us.

Tithing is not about finances, it is about faith. I'm glad to see our Annual Conference start using a Tithing model in place of our old apportionment system. It is important for the church organization to be based on faith so they can lead our people to be full of faith toward God.

It is estimated that United Methodists "tithe" around 2.4%. But that can't be considered a tithe in Bible terms. It is more like a small gift.

Faith not only affirms God as the bountiful Source of our blessings, but trusts God by giving up to Him our first and best-and that includes our tithe because we know that we can't out-give God. We do so believing that this is a part of our responsibility as a disciple of Jesus and that we are in God's hands anyway, so that God will take care of us as God sees fit. Our job is to be faithful to Jesus.

In Chicken Soup for the Soul, a woman writes about many years ago when she worked as a volunteer at Stanford Hospital. She got to know a little girl named Liza who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her five-year-old brother, who miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. The woman said she saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save Liza." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?" Being young, the boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give here all his blood. You can't out-give God. We walk by faith, and live in trust that God is good.

What will you do now?
Has your giving been at 2.4%? How about stepping out in faith and up it to 3.4%. Has it been 5%? How about growing your faith and upping it to 6%? Has it been 7%? Up it to 8%? Has it been 9%? Claim the faith goal of 10%. Amen.